Ignatius Mrak (October 16, 1810 – January 2, 1901) was a Slovenian-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Saulte Saint Marie and Marquette from 1869 to 1879.
Ignatius Mrak | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette | |
 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette |
| Appointed | September 25, 1868 |
| Term ended | April 28, 1879 |
| Predecessor | Frederic Baraga |
| Successor | John Vertin |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | August 13, 1837 by Anton Aloys Wolf |
| Consecration | February 7, 1869 by John Baptist Purcell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 16, 1810 |
| Died | January 2, 1901 (aged 90) Marquette, Michigan |
Biography
Early life
Ignatius Mrak was born on October 16, 1810[1] in Hotovlja in the Duchy of Carniola (present-day Slovenia). He was baptized Ignatz Mrack.[1] He was one of six children of Mathias and Maria (née Demscher) Mrak.[2] He received his early education at schools in Poljane and Kranj before attending the Bežigrad Gymnasium in Ljubljana.[3] In 1834 he entered the diocesan seminary of Ljubljana, where he completed his theological studies with honors.
Priesthood
Mrak was ordained a priest on August 13, 1837 by Anton Aloys Wolf, the prince-bishop of the Diocese of Ljubljana.[2] After passing a rigorous state examination, he was appointed a tutor to the son of Baron Peter Pirquet in Legnago, near Verona, where he remained for two years.[3] He returned to Carniola in 1840 and served as an assistant pastor in Poljane and Slavina.
Influenced by the missionary work of his fellow Slovene, Frederic Baraga, Mrak sought admission to the Diocese of Detroit and arrived in the United States in October 1845.[3] Bishop Peter Paul Lefevere sent him to assist Rev. Francis Xavier Pierz, another Slovene, at the missions in L'Arbre Croche. He quickly learned the Ottawa dialect and, one month after arriving in America, preached an entire sermon in that language.[2] In 1847 he was given his own mission at St. Anthony's in Cross Village, while also attending to St. Francis Xavier's in Readmond and St. Leopold's on Beaver Island. This territory was placed under the Vicariate Apostolic of Upper Michigan in 1853, headed by Bishop Baraga. The vicariate was elevated to the Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie in 1857, and Baraga appointed Mrak vicar general of the diocese in 1859.[2]
Bishop
Mrak retired as bishop on April 28, 1879. He was named titular bishop of Antinoöpolis. He remained in Marquette, where he died at St. Mary's Hospital in 1901.[4][5]
References
- ^ a b Taufbuch. Poljane nad Škofjo Loko. 1809–1825. p. 10. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Rezek, Antoine Ivan (1906). History of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and Marquette. Chicago: M. A. Donohue & Co.
- ^ a b c "Ignatius Mrak". Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ "Useful Life at an End". The Minneapolis Journal. Minneapolis, MN. January 3, 1901. p. 3. Retrieved June 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Savnik, Roman, ed. (1968). Krajevni leksikon Slovenij. Vol. 1. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. p. 362.
External links
 | This article about an American Catholic bishop or archbishop is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |